And Then There Was One
by vchantrek7
Summary: The great and Omnipotent Q takes the Enterprise on a journey where they discover a war-ridden planet with only one mute survivor out of over a billion. Why is Q so enticed with this girl with no name? Did he meet his match? Rated T for blood and violence.
1. Background Information

Background Information

Planet

Name—Shar'a

Composed of one mass continent, divided into two parts—Eastern and Western

Desert divided the two parts

Mostly ocean

4th planet from their yellow sun

Located in Gamma Quadrant in the Milky Way

Once filled with many resources, deprived since the War began

Occupied by the Manara

Manara People

Born telepathic

Much like humans, but with yellow blood (black if a test subject)

Heightened intelligence in most via evolution

Society, Eastern Continent, pre-war

A lie of a utopia

Equality amongst people

Democracy that keeps secrets from the people

Little "crime"

Intelligence is favored and desired

Society, Eastern Continent, during war

Government questioned by people for the first time

Government left low ranking people unprotected

If you weren't part of the movement to defeat the Western Continent, nothing was done to save you

If you were part of the movement, you were part of the government

If you were not part of the government, you were either drafted as a petty soldier and died in battle, or you were forced to manufacture weaponry to attack and defend

No one could be trusted

Society, Western Continent, pre-war

Castes based on jobs, discrimination, communist with one supreme ruler known as Higher Power

The word "trust" was not spoken

If you questioned the Higher Power, you and your family would be killed

You did as you were told or face death

Highest caste=Mena'ri, consisted of high government officials

Middle caste=Kashan'ri, consisted of doctors, scientists, lower government officials, etc.

Lowest caste=Furin'ri, consisted of laborers, slaves, and the physically/mentally impaired.

Society, Western Continent, during war

Much is the same, but more enforced laws

Subject Alpha

Female, blond wavy hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin, perfect complexion

Never given a name, since she was a test subject and test subjects are deduced beings of Sha'ri

Created in a closed environment, built for testing, born in captivity, grown from a test tube

Tested from the age of 10 to the age of 15

Abilities/skills since finishing testing

Telekinesis

Advanced weapon-wielding skill

Telepathy (natural occurrence, not from testing)

Telepathy enhanced after testing and experimentation

Compound retinas and perfect vision—able to see more than the average Manara

Self-teleportation (not known until later years after being extracted from Shari'a

Disease

Name unknown

Created by the Western Continent

Was not tested on Manara subjects, tested on animals with commonalities to Manaras.

A vaccine was developed by the Western Continent, but was not effective

New vaccine was developed by the Eastern Continent, given to test subject who produced antibodies, but could not distribute enough to supply to others.

In theory: stopped all brain function suddenly, without symptoms or detection.

In reality: caused (in order of appearance) red bloodshot eyes, bleeding from extremities, hoarse/wheezing breathing, black skin, blindness, complete loss of memory and zombie-like qualities

Converted all Manaras into zombie-like creatures, except Subject Alpha

Manara People, post-disease

Rogue, Zombie-like

Black skin, completely white and blind eyes

Sensitive hearing used to detect surroundings

Severely decreased intelligence

Unable to retain memories

Completely instinct-based

No language


	2. Chapter 1

She woke from her small, white cocoon every time once a week. She slept amongst hundreds of other cocoons in a building far beneath the surface of her people's planet. It was time for testing again.

The girl was used to all types of tests, from producing antibodies to medical experiments, but her specialty was testing weapons. For the past few months, she has been testing a new energy sword that would be used in the World Army Forces in good time. During these tests, she has battled enemy drones and holographic soldiers resembling the people from the Western Continent. Today was no different than the others, more testing. She was taken from her cocoon and placed in a test chamber where she was to complete the task assigned—survive.

She was bored by the usual sounds of the drones shooting their ammunition at her. She knew all too well how to defend herself against the useless pieces of scrap metal. Effortlessly, she threw the sword and sliced the drones clean in half, all in one stroke. She caught the returning sword and sat plainly on the white floor, waiting to be deposited in the next chamber as usual. It was a routine that has not changed for her during her testing years, until today.

Instead, she was transported into a medical room equipped with doctors and surgical tools. She was placed in the chair, and was pricked and cut for blood. They silently went on about their testing, talking in fast gibberish she did not understand, nor did she care about. It was her purpose in life, to test. Nothing else was prudent to her. They pulled a mask on her face, and she soon fell into a deep coma, for the doctors were going to perform a certain procedure that will twist and turn her entire life and focus forever.

The doctors talked in their gibberish more and more throughout the procedure. It was a language made up by them, only known by those in the higher ranks of the medical field in the Eastern Continent. They were the only team of doctors located in this particular testing facility. They receive their orders from the Higher Power, and for the next 12 hours, they will implant a chip that contained basic information of the planet and its society, its many languages, statistics, and basic history. But the doctors didn't know what was on the chip. They also were to start treating the girl with a new drug that, in theory, would create the perfect super-soldier. Only the head doctor would give the drug. It wouldn't be wise to trust government knowledge with many people.

After the implantation, the rest of the lower ranking doctors were instructed to leave the room while the head doctor completed the last portion of the operation, which was to inject the subject, the girl, with the reformed drug. The girl was labeled "Subject Alpha" by the Higher Power, and was transported into a separate facility far away from the testing apparatus. Complete isolation


	3. Chapter 2

All during the top-secret medical procedures, the long war between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent continued with new strikes and methods of slaughter every day. Bombs, bullets, deadly lasers, drones, enhanced soldiers. You name it; one of the two sides had it. But what the Western Continent had was more than both could handle—biological warfare. Their scientists had been working on a disease that would simply cause a person to drop dead suddenly, without warning or symptoms.

It was an ingenious plan, really. If only they knew how to contain the pathogen…

It was an unusually quiet morning on the fronts of the two continents. The Eastern Continent waited at the raped border, soldiers lined up in the traditional style, military vehicles lined up in the middle lines. They placed the weaker soldiers in the front lines, because they would be shot down first. Then have your strong soldiers in the back. But there were no gun fire or drone deployments that day.

They waited and waited for hours for the first strike. There wasn't a soul in sight on the other side of the border. Time continued to pass, slowly ticking away. Sweat dripped onto the guns of the trigger-happy soldiers. They stared at the sun, soaring above them without a care in the world, making its way due west.

The sun finally set on the western horizon, creating red and orange hues in the partly-cloudy sky. The red and orange turned into blue, then black with the white specks of faraway planets and peace. Night continued on, with silence that was maddening.

Some soldiers went to sleep, others enjoyed card games. But there was one soldier, Minha Redinam, who stared at those white specks through the floating clouds. He wondered to himself, "What could be up there that is better than this…" Minha's dream was to go to space, and it would have come true if space exploration wasn't cut short because of the war. He often finds himself staring at the stars at night, losing himself in his thoughts. But his eyes turned from a cluster of stars to a large one shooting across the sky. He bumped his neighboring soldier and pointed to the soaring stellar object. Amazed, other soldiers watched as it moved gracefully across the sky.

Their star gazing was interrupted by a high-pitched, ear-splitting noise. Minha then looked at the sky again, only to find that the shooting star wasn't a star at all, but the first signs of attack from the Western Continent, a torpedo or sorts. The torpedo soared straight up into the air, and fell to the ground as quickly as it came. The men took cover in their holds, weapons ready. Minha looked above, and saw a looming cloud of blue smoke rushing towards the front. The men were ordered to retreat, but it was too late for their poor souls. Even though Minha and his fellow comrades ran as fast as their long legs could push them, they were engulfed by the dull-blue smoke that carried their fate in small particles. One by one, screams of terror arose from the chaos, but visibility was nonexistent. No one could see what monsters they were turning into… The pathogen carried in the smoke attacked all of the organ systems in the Manaras' bodies. Each was turned to black as they turned into a completely new, savage, idiotic, blood-thirsty species. Minha was more agile than the others, and managed to climb into a military tank and seal it shut. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily, thanking the Gods that he was spared.

His heavy breathing gave him away in the end. The tank operator was already converted into the monster that was about to possess Minha. Once he caught his breathing, he finally opened his eyes, only to see death, straight in the face. Drool dripped from the zombie's mouth and fell on the sandy floor. Long nails were outstretched. Death hissed at Minha, and left him speechless. "So this is what ugly looks like," thought Minha. And those were his last thoughts, for Death bit him in the neck, ripping skin and muscle off his body. Minha's screams of utter pain attracted the monsters outside, who began to shake the tank. Vision became blurry and red for him, and he felt something shudder through his core and spread to the tips of his limbs. Minha fell to the floor and watched the zombie who brought him death jump out of the tank and into the crowd of his fellow monsters. He could feel the pool of yellow blood forming behind his head down to his shoulders. And right when the pain subsided, it returned with a new vengeance, shooting through every part of him with rage and determination. His blood-curdling screams turned into savage roars as his eyes turned from red to white, losing his vision altogether.

The desire to travel to the stars vanished deep within his soul as he ripped open the top of the tank and jumped into the chaos of monsters running towards the capital of the Western Continent…


	4. Chapter 3

Many weeks passed as the drug went through Subject Alpha's system. Results were recorded, blood was drawn, and organs became strong and resilient. Her mind flourished like no other could, causing dramatically increased intelligence and skill. But the real goal was achieved in a year's time—telekinesis.

Waking Subject Alpha up was out of the question, temporarily. The Higher Power had seen the new pathogen, and what it does to their people. Scientists were quarantined, and instructed to create a vaccine as quickly as possible. Many types had been formed, and sent to the doctor keeping tabs on Subject Alpha. Each was tested, but none proved truly effective against the disease. More were produced, and all failed. Supplies ran out, both in isolation and throughout the planet. The Higher Power was eventually assimilated by the pathogen. Small pockets of isolated Manaras formed in various places, but as months passed and resources were used, very few were left.

Eventually, it trickled down to two survivors—Subject Alpha (who was still in a coma), and her supervising doctor, who was beginning to go mad from the nonexistent social contact with others. The good doctor was aware of the societal collapse that occurred just outside the thick, insulated orange walls of isolation, but the thought of having no one to talk to except a mute test subject only furthered his insanity. But out of that insanity, and with only reserve power and very few resources left, he managed to create a few different vaccines to protect them against the pending doom outside.

Each was tested on Subject Alpha first. Only one succeeded. She began to produce the necessary antibodies to create enough for the doctor to protect himself with. The mad man extracted the antibodies and placed them into a syringe.

Through his twisted logic and his maniacal laughter, he convinced himself that he could save the entire world by simply injecting the vaccine into one of the infected Manaras, who would then transmit it to other infected Manaras, and everything would be undone and healed. He sat up from his chair and clumsily knocked over the IV line that kept Subject Alpha in her long coma, spilling the long-term anesthesia and ripping the needle from her arm, and skipped his way down the dark hall. He unlocked the orange doors that kept him alive for almost 3 years, and ventured down the dirt road, littered with flesh, corpses, and a single zombie leaning against a fallen tree and eating a dead rabbit. The insane doctor screamed at the zombie, "YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" and ran to him, with syringe in hand. Through his sudden rage, he tripped over a decomposed carcass of a Manara and fell into a pit of mud. In a split second, the lone zombie dashed to the last male Manara and ripped his neck open, leaving a yellow puddle of blood that formed waves from the twitching of the converting doctor…

The newest edition to the post-diseased Manara population back tracked down the road from where he traveled in a previous life he could not comprehend, and would soon forget about in a day's time. He made it to the wide open orange doors and roared down the dark hall, creating echoes that attracted more of his kind.


	5. Chapter 4

Ten-Forward was bustling with excitement that afternoon, another shift change. Guinan served drinks with a certain bartending skill she had acquired over the years. You could say she knew a thing or two regarding where to get "the good stuff," as she described it. Only a select few knew she was talking about Romulan ale…

A good portion of coffee was ordered, along with the occasional order of synthehol scattered around, mostly from the tables closer to the force fields that separated the stars from that Romulan ale stashed under the bar table.

Through the loud commotion of excited voices and the gentle hum of the replicator, Guinan noticed her friend Data had entered through the large sliding doors that lead to the rest of Deck 10. She motioned him over to the bar stool in front of her, and the pale android nodded and sat himself promptly.

"Hello Guinan, how has your day been?" asked Data, cocking his right eyebrow.

"Busy, I suppose. Everyone's more excited than usual…" mused Guinan.

"There is a crew rotation scheduled in a few hours. We are currently heading to Starbase 87 and will arrive to the scheduled crew rotation in 2 hours 18 minutes and 37 seconds." stated Data in his usual tone.

"A crew rotation… wonderful…" said Guinan uncertainly. She didn't mind crew rotations, but today, she had a strange feeling in her gut, and she didn't like it for one second.

"Indeed, it is wonderful. The Enterprise will receive new crew members who will be educated in its systems and functions, though old crew members will leave. Geordi says that is okay, because those leaving will make new friends elsewhere, and those new to the Enterprise will make new friends here."

Guinan wasn't paying much attention to Data any longer; her attention had turn to that feeling in her gut. She knew something was going to happen. In haste, she reached over to the Comm-pad on the bar table and called the bridge.

"Bridge… is… is everything all right up there?" she asked with a worried tone.

Worf did a quick security check from his console behind Captain Picard. Commander Riker, to Picard's right, did the same on his console. Wesley's blood pressure increased slightly, but tried very hard not to show his nervousness in front of the adults. He just continued to watch the helm, double checking that the mighty Enterprise was on the correct course, and at the correct speed. Wesley thought to himself, "Oh no, did Picard say Warp 6 or Warp 8? Well, Warp 6 is the standard cruising speed… Better leave it at Warp 6. Yeah."

Counselor Troi was also on the bridge, seated to Picard's left, and did a telepathic check-over on the crew. Most were excited because of the crew rotation, but Guinan…

Captain Jean-Luc Picard sat in his captain's chair, and pressed a few commands into his dashboard. Through the Comm, Picard answered, confused, "Yes Guinan, everything is fi—"

His sentence was interrupted by a blinding flash of light and familiar laughter. Picard pleaded to himself in his mind, "_Oh please, not now…"_

The light returned to its previous setting, but what looked like two spotlights appeared on the ceiling, pointed to a tall man in a captain's uniform, with brown hair and a twisted smile. It was none other than the omnipotent Q, arms outstretched, ready to cause havoc on the unfortunate universe today.

"Q!" Picard yelled, getting up from his chair. "What is it this time, Q? I don't have time to play your petty gam—"

"OH, JEAN-LUC!" Q shouted ecstatically, "How wonderful to see you again. How have you been, my friend?"

"I am certainly no friend of yours, Q. Now get off my bridge!"

"Oh, pish-posh Jean-Luc! We're the best of friends! And the best of friends ALWAYS give each other gifts of appreciation, don't they? I have a wonderful gift for you, Jean-Luc. OH, YOU'LL JUST LOVE IT!"

"What you find wonderful, I find destructive! I am not interested in any of your gifts, Q! Now leave!"

"HAHAHA, you are such a funny man, Jean-Luc!" Q showed off his twisted smile, which soon disappeared by another quick flash of blinding light. Q and his spotlights were nowhere to be found.

"Sir! I think Q changed our heading!" said Wesley loudly. He wanted to be sure he was heard, but perhaps he said it a little too loud. No one noticed besides him though.

"Where to, Wes?" asked Riker, worried about whatever pending doom laid ahead.

"We've taken a complete 90 degree turn, heading straight towards the beginnings of the Beta Quadrant at Warp 8. I think we're heading to a planet there. Scans show its Class M, unexplored. It looks like there's a pre-warp civilization there."

"Great," stated Riker. "Just great."

"Oh, it'll get better, Will." said Jean-Luc. "Whatever Q has in store for us, it will be an adventure none of us will forget.


	6. Chapter 5

Subject Alpha awoke with a jolt to an annoying giggle looming down the hall. She faintly remembered the place, the place with the orange walls...

She examined herself and her surroundings. She was in a small bed, clothed in a white tank top and white underwear, and was surrounded by wires and slit tubes of all sorts of colors with smelly liquids coming out of each, leaking onto the floor. The floor was littered with crumbled paper, and was drawn on with a sort of chalk. Equations and chemical compounds were laid out in rows parallel to the tiling. Strange symbols she could not read were written off to the side in a yellow liquid. Cautiously, she touched the cold tile with her toes, and began to put pressure on them. They curled at the strange sensation the tile gave her nerves. Soon she was standing for the first time in years, and took her first steps as the last Manara by walking to a beeping console across the room.

Looking tentatively at the device, she became mesmerized by all the colors and sounds it made. Strange round dots surrounded a box with a few symbols inscribed to the right of it. She didn't know what it meant, but looking at it caused a dull pain to form on the side of her head. She placed her hand on the source of the pain, and rubbed over a two-inch scar located in her hair on the side of her head. The pain subsided, and she heard the giggling again.

Using her adept hearing, she followed the giggling down the dark hall. Slowly she walked, absorbing the feeling of every step. It was so new to her, walking. She felt like walking faster, so she did. She walked faster and faster as the giggling grew louder and louder. Ear-splitting giggling, so loud it would make any man insane.

The giggling frightened her. She began to back away from it, trying to move away from it. But no matter where she turned the giggling only grew louder and louder. She wasn't in the hall anymore, just an empty abyss, pitch-black dark. She ran with all her might, somehow realizing the giggling wasn't meant for fun, but for something horrible. But her running only landed her at the source of the giggling, a man in a red and black jumpsuit, studded with four gold circles on the neck area, and a golden oval pin on the chest with a triangular symbol. His twisted smile and giggling caused Subject Alpha to display a shocked and frightened expression on her face. Instinct forced her to run in the opposite direction, but the strange man spontaneously produced himself in front of her again! She ran to the side, and didn't stop. The giggling was maddening now, so loud her ears should have started bleeding. She tripped over herself and landed in a ball of discomfort on the invisible floor that was no longer orange. She curled up into the ball and cringed at the laughter. Tense energy began to form within her, anger arose, such raw emotion she could not control…

Suddenly a golf- ball sized mass of blue energy was produced from her core, and expanded rapidly to the size of a large beach ball. It continued to expand until it enveloped Subject Alpha completely. Now in an igloo of sound-proof energy, she regained the little sanity she had and stood up to face the menace.

She looked around hastily for the strange man in the strange uniform. All she saw was darkness, but fortunately she only heard silence, a bit of good news amongst horror.

The man produced himself again in front of her, but he could not enter the bubble of blue energy he so desperately tried to enter. He tapped at it, ran into it, popped in and out of thin air around it, but only bounced back a few feet after each attempt. Subject Alpha saw his mouth move, his tongue flicked against his teeth. Staring quizzically at the man, he began to show extreme frustration, and his mouth moved faster, displaying wrinkles on his forehead and sides of his mouth. His jaw became more defined as he grew red in the face. Subject Alpha found this amusing, and, without knowing how she did, managed to expand the bubble of energy inch by inch, bumping back the angry man more and more. He yelled above him many times, but he received no answer any longer from the heavens. His eyes turned from the nonexistent ceiling to Subject Alpha. She returned his stare with those deep blue eyes the man became lost in. He turned his head slightly, and then gave her a small smile. He bowed, which made Subject Alpha very confused. With his arms now outstretched, a blinding flash of light generated in the man's place, and Subject Alpha was returned to the orange room where she had stayed for so many years.

The energy bubble disappeared, and her toes curled at the cold tile once more. She looked for the man around the room, but only found a shiny silver cylinder with ridges, nicks in the covering, and one button that blended with the color. She examined it further, and found which side was the top and which was the bottom. Looking down into the top, there was metal wiring inside that looked like the metal wiring inside the light that came from the orange ceiling. Curious as to what the devices purpose was, she pointed the top away from her and pressed the button.

A roar and hum was generated a soon as the button was pressed, accompanied by a bright green rod of light and energy that shot out of the top. The silver cylinder gave off a slight, constant vibration when in the hands of Subject Alpha.

Forgotten memories filled her precious mind: robotic spheres, red lasers, skilled gymnastics, so many needles and colorful tubes, those strange smells and strange men in white coats, and that green sword in her hand. She had used it before…

There was a loud crash and a low growl behind the door that led to the outside. Subject Alpha's blood pressure rose. Tightening the grip on the saber of green light, she tip toed towards the sound. She got so close to the door, the tip of her pale nose touched the door. She heard more growling and gurgling, but the disgusting sound was moving away from her into the distance. Once she was satisfied that the being was far enough away from her, Subject Alpha turned the knob and pushed the door open, letting in a very bright stream of yellow light from the outside.

On a normal day, Shar'a would have been flourishing with green grass and trees, with animals that would swim in clear ponds, fly overhead singing a tune, or walk between berry bushes in forests. But nothing was normal anymore; ponds were dried up, decomposed carcasses and ripped of animals littered the dead dirt lots. Two dark, bipedal creatures stood behind a long dead tree. They were the source of the growling.

Their pale white eyes were looking straight at her, but they didn't motion towards her. Subject Alpha took a small step forward to examine them with a closer view. Her first step closer was silent. Second was silent. Third, fourth, fifth… silent. Twenty steps, she could smell them, a horrible stench. Dried blood, decomposing flesh, covered in dirt… Still, she was quite a few meters away from the pair of ugly monsters. She gambled and took another step, which was anything but silent. Of all the things, a stick was produced directly beneath her foot. It snapped so loudly, it could have been heard for miles. And it was. The two zombies stopped whatever they were doing and looked right at the shocked expression of Subject Alpha with their blind eyes. Both growled deeply, and one leaped at her.

As quick as a mad rabbit, Subject Alpha sliced him in too with her green saber. The other ran towards her, and also met the same fate. The green light cut cleanly through the second monster's neck, decapitating the poor fellow who used to be her doctor, and spilling blood on her white top. But she didn't know that the mound of black flesh used to care for her; she couldn't even recall the man.

Looking up from the stench of death, she saw over the horizon more creatures. She tightened her grip once more on the saber, and began to run towards the crowd of running black. Before she could even finish half of her first step, the still-living half of the first sliced zombie grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall flat on her face. Quickly, she recovered and flipped herself over. The zombie let out a deafening roar and pulled his half onto her and bit her neck. She let out a scream, but there was no pain. The zombie couldn't even penetrate her skin. He continued to gnaw at her neck, but she didn't fight back. She was too stunned.

The man returned, but he was soaring through the sky! Hands behind his head, legs crossed, he soared through the air majestically, like an eagle piloting a blimp. He waved down at her in amusement. It was a game to him… a game of survival.

Subject Alpha lit up her saber again and pushed the half of zombie off her. He let out a loud roar again, but she cut it off by decapitating him like the other. She looked up at the sky again, but the man disappeared into nothing. She soon forgot about the man when she turned around and saw the mass of black heading right towards her through an open plain.

Without any other option she could think of in her split-second decision time, she grasped the green saber and dashed towards the looming mass of black zombies that roared without a care in the world.

Subject Alpha roared back, and they heard her battle cry loud and clear. They increased their pace, but that only meant they were going to be decapitated sooner. In swift strokes, Subject Alpha met the mass of black like the Western Continent met the Eastern Continent. She sliced heads clean off while being dragged down by other monsters. In that living hell, she became covered in dirt and black blood, and the two combined formed a goopy substance that clung to her skin like leeches.

She never stopped screaming.


	7. Chapter 6

"Ensign Crusher, what is our ETA for the, erm, surprise?" asked Picard.

"We'll arrive at the planet in approximately 5 hours and 27 minutes, Captain." Wes replied quickly.

"Well, that should give us plenty of time to muse over what Q is up to this time." Picard mumbled to himself. "All senior officers, report to the bridge!"

"I recommend we take defensive actions, Captain," stated Worf. "The last time Q meddled with us…"

"I don't think that will be necessary quite yet, Mr. Worf. He just wants to play… However, I want you to keep alert; we can only guess what will occur in the near future."

The turbolift doors opened with a hiss, and Data, Geordi, and Dr. Crusher emerged.

"What's going on, Captain?" asked Geordi, concerned. He called up the engineering console behind Worf while Data relieved the lieutenant manning the Ops station. Dr. Crusher gave a small wave to her son at the helm, and took a seat next to Troi.

"We've been paid a visit by Q, who is taking us on a little adventure today…" said Picard. "Let's continue this in the observation lounge, shall we?" Picard motioned to the sliding doors that led to the observation lounge. Riker was first to move, followed closely by Troi, then by Dr. Crusher, Data, Picard, Worf, and Geordi. Wesley watched as they lined themselves through the doors.

Picard suddenly realized something important, and walked back onto the bridge.

"ENSIGN CRUSHER!" Picard shouted sternly.

"YES CAPTAIN?" Wesley shouted back, startled but alert. Ready for action.

"_This boy needs to grow some..." _Picard's thoughts trailed off before he could finish them. "You have the bridge." He said quietly, giving Wesley a look that the poor boy read as, "If you dare scratch the hull of my ship while I'm not looking, I'll blast you out into space via the nearest airlock."

"Uh…" Wesley was so confused. He was giving HIM the bridge?

"ARE YOU DEAF, ENSIGN? YOU HAVE THE BRIDGE!" Picard yelled at him in dissatisfaction. As quickly as he came, he walked back through the doors to the sight of the senior officers jabbering around the observation table, each standing by their usual chairs.

"Y-YES SIR!" Wesley replied to the closed doors. The bridge was mostly empty now; those who remained were mere ensigns giving Wesley quizzical looks.

Meanwhile, in the observation lounge, the senior officers took their seats around the winding table and looked at Picard, who sat at the end.

"Well. Isn't this splendid." Picard started off. "As you all may or may not know, Q has given us a visit, and is now taking us on one of his petty adventures through the holds of deep space."

"This is an outrage." Complained Worf.

"I agree. I think it's safe to say that we're all sick of these visits from Q. Unfortunately, I can't develop a cure for it…" joked Dr. Crusher.

Troi spoke up next, her voice grabbing Riker's attention. "Q always has a reason behind his encounters with us. I sense that there is something bigger than a small adventure when we arrive at the destination he's set for us." Mused Troi. Riker contemplated these thoughts, and agrees with her via a nod and a small stare that Troi returned, slightly blushing. Both looked away towards Picard.

"You're right, DeAnna. Mr. Worf, I still want you to be ready for anything; keep on your toes. Data, what is our estimated time of arrival?"

"We will arrive at the destination in precisely four hours fifty-four minutes 29 seconds—" Data's synthetic voice was cut off.

"Yes, thank you Data." Picard replied quickly.

"I recommend we go to Yellow Alert, sir." Suggested Riker in a low voice.

"Make it so, Number One. DeAnna, keep tabs on those telepathic and empathic waves incase Q visits again between now and our arrival. Dr. Crusher, I want sickbay ready for potential casualties. Anything can happen. Mr. LaForge, watch those engines of yours closely… " Picard looked around at everyone at the table with pride. "Dismissed."

They stood up all at once silently and made their way to the doors leading back to the bridge. Riker and Picard hung back towards the tables and gave each other a look of worry.

Geordi was closest to the doors, in front of Data and Worf. Though Geordi commanded the doors to slide into the walls via his presence, they did not obey. A sound of error was released by the door. "What the…" said Geordi. Data and Worf proceeded to try the doors on the opposite side of the room, but found the same result of disobedience. Confused looks emerged amongst the Senior Staff. Only Data mimicked it because of his programming.

The familiar giggle engulfed the room, causing Troi to hold her hand to her forehead in slight ache. Riker saw this, and moved towards her in comfort. A flash of light produced itself on top of the table.

Q appeared, smiling his usual overly-excited smile at Picard, and outstretched his arms. He had mud from his feet to his thighs, and had dust on his safari-like wardrobe. Worf was envious of his fine choices in weapons for the first three seconds, and then decided that if he can take Q down, he could keep his weapons. Instinctively growling, Worf held his fists up and regretted not having a handheld phaser on his waist.

Q smiled. "JEAN-LUC! Talking about me behind my back?"

"Oh, Q, you know I would never do that." Picard replied in a sarcastic tone.

"I must have been mistaken, then. Continue on, friends." Q simply said, shrugging his shoulders. Snapping his fingers, he disappeared in another flash of light, and the doors leading to the bridge opened.

Picard exited to a bridge covered in a black substance and empty of a crew. He walked through the black goop to his chair, which was also soiled. The liquid gave off a distinct smell similar to human blood.

Dr. Crusher whipped out her medical tricorder and scanned a sample of the black substance. "I believe it is some sort of bodily fluid… it contains DNA. Humanoid, a mixture of male and female, unfamiliar species…"

Dr. Crusher continued to scan while Worf wiped the goop off his console with his hand. "No damage, sir."

Data accessed his console standing, unwilling to seat himself in his now black chair. The black contrasted greatly with his white skin as he also wiped it off his screen. "Captain, scans show we are the only ones left on the ship." Data said with a mimicked shocking tone.

Everyone stopped staring at the black and looked to Data, stunned. Dr. Crusher's thoughts went to her son. _Wesley..._ she thought with worry.

"Data, where are we?" Picard asked quickly.

"Unknown, sir. We have veered off our course and are now in uncharted territory."

"On screen."

Data called up a visual of the outside space that surrounded the magnificent ship. Colorful nebula clouds passed by rapidly as they traveled at an unsafe warp speed that could not be determined.

"What the hell is going on here." Riker thought aloud.

"Only the heavens know what is to come, Will." Picard replied in a dark tone.

The almost-empty Enterprise continued to float its way towards Death itself, and She was beautiful.


	8. Chapter 7

"Sir, we have arrived at the planet." Wesley stated in the best confident tone he could muster. Riker could tell that he was frightened.

"On screen," Riker replied, still wiping black off his console. He was about to call a repair team to help clean the mess up, but then he remembered there wasn't anyone else on the ship besides his fellow senior officers.

With a beep from the computer console, the ragged, dead planet appeared on the massive view screen. The one continent was brown colored, with black specs concentrated around once lively cities. There were a few green islands that were a few hundred kilometers off the coast. The senior officers watched on the bridge as the planet slowly spun around the yellow sun at the center of the system.

"Life signs?" asked Picard.

"Affirmative. There are approximately forty-million life signs of two different species, unevenly distributed. There is a significantly less amount of one than the other. Fascinating…" mused Data, sitting at ops.

"Anything different about this planet that could have sparked Q's imagination this much?" asked Picard, motioning his hands to the ceiling.

"There is no sign of any warp technology, suggesting that the society is pre-warp. However, there is a large amount of artificial satellites in orbit around the planet. They do not appear to be functioning."

"I want to go down there." Picard stated.

"Sir, isn't that exactly what Q wants you to do?" urged Riker.

"I don't plan on sitting up here for all eternity, Number One. We must make a move."

"Aye sir."

"Captain, I don't like the idea of using the transporter. There's an ion storm not too far away from our position," suggested Geordi from his engineering console behind Worf.

"Agreed. Mr. Data, how long until a shuttlepod is prepped and ready?" asked Picard.

"I can have it ready in about twenty minutes, sir."

"Good. I want you and Worf to accompany me to the surface."

"Captain—" protested Riker.

"I know what you're going to say, Will. This is something I have to do. I'm giving you a direct order to command the ship while I'm on the surface."

Hesitating for a moment, Riker complied, "Aye, sir."

"Mr. Data, begin preparations. Worf," Picard motioned to Worf, who nodded and followed him into the turbolift. Data followed soon after punching in commands into his console, transferring scans to Riker's console.

The turbolift doors closed. Picard commanded the computer, "Shuttlebay Two."

The turbolift began to move and give off the familiar hum as it moved deeper into the ship.

"Sir, what do you expect on the surface?" asked Worf in a deep voice.

"I have no idea," replied Picard.

The large yellow ball of light shined across the horizon, making shadows and orange rays on the black blood-ridden ground. Any dead plants that once stood limply were now crushed into ashes. Bits of dead flesh created a stench that could make any animal faint. Corpses laid everywhere, on top of one another, along the field on the horizon. The only sound that was being made was the soft, gentle hum of the active green energy sword, being held motionlessly by Subject Alpha. She could barely comprehend the mass murder of death she committed. A soft wind began to blow spare strands of hair into her face. Her blank expression did not change.

Her eyes did not stop gazing at how the black blood poured out of the last slain monster's neck. How curious, how it dripped onto the black ground in such even time. The sound of liquid dripping on liquid became louder and louder. The sound was almost unbearable. Her gaze continued without a flinch, no motion at all throughout her body. Not even the roar of the approaching shuttlepod could make her move, nor overcome the dripping sound.

The shuttlepod landed half a kilometer from the beginning of the mass field of corpses. Worf exited first with a phaser in hand and a tricorder in a holster attached to his waist. His eyes were sharp and ready for anything to pop out of the shadows being created by the setting sun. He jumped out of the shuttlepod, followed by Data and Picard, both with a tricorder in hand with a phaser in a holster.

Data opened his tricorder and began scanning the general area. "I am picking up a strange energy reading point-eight-two kilometers from our current position," said Data.

"Perhaps that energy signature is what we're looking for…" Picard said, thinking aloud. "Keep alert."

Worf nodded and had Data lead the way towards the energy signature. Soon after beginning their walk, they found the first of the black liquid.

Data repositioned his tricorder to collect details about the substance. "Sir, the liquid has unmistakable similarities to the black substance that covered the bridge. Comparing the two, I believe it is blood."

"_There's enough here to fill an ocean…"_ thought Picard.

Worf wrinkled his nose and grunted at the foul stench that the blood created. Picard let in a deep breath through his mouth, attempting to get used to the nauseating smell. Data, of course, was unaffected by the smell and stayed notably focused.

"The energy signature is getting stronger. Any closer and it will register off the scale, sir," said Data.

"We must keep moving. I need to get to the bottom of this…" Picard said the last part to himself. He placed his foot first into the black blood, now leading the group towards a dark pile just left of the setting sun over the horizon.

"What in God's name is—" Picard cut himself off before he would regret any words he might have spoken after seeing the pile of slain bodies.

One on top of another, and another, and another. A never ending field of naked corpses. Black, rotten flesh covered the entire ground, creating a stench even stronger and fouler than the one before.

"Sir," Data pointed to a green light that stood next to a humanoid. He held his tricorder, confirming that the humanoid was right at the location of the energy signature.

"So the energy signature was just a life sign reading?" asked Worf quietly, looking at Data.

"Negative, Lieutenant. I am not picking up any life signs…" Data replied in a faked curious tone, returning Worf's stare.

Neither noticed that Picard began to briskly walk to the humanoid, which he later recognized was a young female that greatly resembled an actual human.

Data and Worf quickly followed behind. After finally catching up to him, Data saw the vexed expression on his face.

The young female had her back turned to the landing party, with her waist-length blonde hair flowing in a slight breeze that developed after the sun was halfway sunk behind the horizon. Orange waves exfoliated her natural highlights and her incredibly pale skin, which almost sparkled in the light.

Picard stopped about twenty feet from the female, and called out to her, "Young lady!"

She did not respond.

"Ma'am! Please state your name!" he continued.

Again, she did not respond.

Picard approached her from the back-right; he was only three feet away now, along with Worf and Data. Data kept back a few extra feet, still holding his tricorder.

She wore a soiled shirt that had turned almost completely black. There were many rips in it, leaving many parts of her dirty skin exposed. Her pants laid in shambles, threads covered her legs underneath more black blood. Picard could see no shoes anywhere around her.

"Ma'am?" he asked, looking at her bloodied face, spotted with black.

For the third time, she did not respond. Picard noticed a deep, blank expression on her face as her pale blue eyes stared into the sun, almost three-fourths sunk. His eyes dropped from her face to the silver cylinder attached to another neon-green cylinder she held very tightly.

"Ma'am?" he repeated a second time, raising his right hand to place on her right, exposed shoulder.

Just as Picard was going to rest his hand on her shoulder, she spun around in almost no time and raised her energy sword to slice his head clean off.

Worf grabbed her wrist, squishing black blood in between his fingers as he kept the sword from murdering his captain. Picard moved back rapidly, and tripped over a body. He fell into another pile of them, and soiled his uniform.

Subject Alpha screamed loudly, a combination of terror and a fierce battlecry. Worf lost his grip on her slippery wrist, and he was pushed backwards onto corpses. She raised her weapon again, ready to slice Worf's head off. Her arm swished downward, aiming right for Worf's brown neck, right below his incredibly shocked expression that she will remember forever…


	9. Chapter 8

Data took hold of Subject Alpha's forearm just before another corpse was added to the pile. Fighting against the force of her almost-deadly swing, he raised her arm as quickly as he could without snapping it in two.

Her violent concentration switched from Worf's neck to Data's gleaming yellow eyes. And through those eyes, he saw her eyes; they weren't blue anymore.

They were completely pitch-black. No whites in her eyes.

The black glared at Data, as wide as the setting sun. She used all of her force to free herself from his grasp, releasing growls and whines from her throat, clenching teeth tighter and tighter, but Data did not surrender.

Worf scrambled out from beneath Subject Alpha and aimed his phaser at her. Picard shouted, "Don't shoot, Lieutenant!" as the energy beam just left the weapon. It hit Subject Alpha right in between the back of her shoulder blades, but she did not collapse; she continued to glare at Data, struggling against his immense strength against her forearm.

Worf let out a small growl of frustration and continued to disobey Picard's orders.

"Perhaps at a higher setting…" he thought. "Heavy stun."

Another cry from Picard ensued as Worf began to reconfigure his phaser. "Do not shoot, Lieutenant! That is a direct order!" Picard tried to get up from the pile of corpses, but the blood pools proved to be too sticky to escape.

Worf still fired his phaser, hitting the same place on Subject Alpha's back. "Not even a scratch?" he questioned to himself. Her gaze on Data still held strong. Not a blink from either force.

"LIEUTENANT!" Picard screamed.

Worf ran backwards towards his captain, keeping his eyes on the struggling pair. He noticed that Data put on a frustrated expression.

Worf extended a hand to Picard, who managed to get himself out of the sticky mess that seemed to eat him alive. Ignoring the slime clinging to his entire frame and the fresh gash on his hand that he received from the fall, he watched as Subject Alpha's energy sword fell out of her hand, almost slicing Data's torso in the process. Once it hit the ground, it zoomed shut, killing its humming sound.

Silence enveloped the entire planet for the first time in millennia.

Data still stared at Subject Alpha, wondering why she didn't use her free hand to free herself or grab her fallen sword. Her eyes continued to peer into him.

"Is it possible for eyes to… change expression?" Data processed to himself. He observed her small facial changes as their colliding forces remained stalemate against one another. The biggest change was her eyebrows—they shifted position to reflect something… sad. Even through the black depths of her eyes, he could see something… sad. Something broken.

No sound escaped anyone's lips. Complete silence.

Her arm began to shake slightly under Data's grasp, her gaze unbroken. She didn't want to give up. An opponent this strong could only mean one thing for her—death.

Silence fell as Picard inched closer to the pair, holding his injured hand in his other. He asked quietly in a calm tone, "Please, madam… tell us your name and we can help—" Picard stopped when he noticed the black that had replaced her once blue eyes. Worf moved to flank Picard, yet again aiming his useless phaser at Subject Alpha.

She couldn't understand the words, but the tranquil tone combined with Picard's accent convinced her that surrender was the only option. Her arm slowly stopped twitching under Data's grasp, and Data let her arm slide out of his hand.

She broke the long gaze and looked at Picard, then Worf, then back at Data.

The blackness shrunk in her eyes, exposing the pale whites and sharp edges of blue. The black shrunk into her pupils.

"We will take you back with us," Data assured her, motioning his hand to the others. "We will take you to our ship and provide medical care. And contact the authorities on this planet on your behalf. Will that be acceptable to you?"

She still didn't understand his strange language. She was so sure that he was explaining how they were going to kill her. The war was clearly over, but there could only be one victor.

Subject Alpha looked at Data and turned her head slightly to the side, waiting for him to make the next move.

"Do you understand what we have told you?" asked Data.

She remained silent, completely still, staring at Data.

"Perhaps the Universal Translator is malfunctioning," said Worf as he studied her poise.

Picard stepped closer to her, noting the many cuts all over her body. "Data, where is the med kit?"

Data turned to Picard. "It is in the shuttle, sir. Would you like me to get it for you?" he suggested as he nodded towards Picard's gash.

"Yes, Mr. Data," he replied, without breaking his gaze.

Data looked back on Subject Alpha, then turned back towards the shuttle. As he walked away, Subject Alpha shifted her stare to Picard.

"Mr. Data will be able to heal your wounds," Picard explained to her as if she were a child. "Then we can go back to my ship, and have my doctor look at you."

Her face dropped. She now looked sullen, depressed. As if she had not only lost everything around her, but everything inside her as well. She admitted defeat to herself. What left was there to fight for? She couldn't care less if Worf shot her a million more times with his phaser. Or if Picard picked up her sword and stabbed her in the heart with it. Everything was over for her. Her one wish was for the strange men to hurry up with her death sentence.

Data returned with the med kit. "Sir, I suggest we return to the shuttle and make our way back to the ship. Sensors indicate a powerful storm headed in our direction. The rain that will fall is highly acidic due to the heavy pollution caused by the warfare here."

Picard could just see the beginning line of dark clouds on the opposite side of the horizon. "Good idea, Mr. Data."

Picard turned towards Subject Alpha. "Madam, it is time to depart...madam?" Subject Alpha began to tremble. She fell to her knees, and landed in front of her fallen sword.

"Sir... her eyes!" Worf said, aghast.

The blackness swirled up in her eyes and sank back into her pupils, exposing her true blue eyes. The black then pooled along her bottom eyelids and spilled over onto her cheeks.

Picard kneeled in front of her and took her hands into his own. "Come with me. You will be safe. I promise."

She looked into his eyes in wonder. Why hasn't he killed me yet?

Her head turned to Data, then to Worf, still holding his phaser at her. Picard turned to him. "Worf put that damn thing away!" he shouted at him.

"Aye, sir," Worf replied. He holstered his phaser on his belt.

Subject Alpha turned to Picard again. He got up, still holding her hands. She rose with him, and allowed him to guide her to the shuttle. Data and Worf followed closely behind.

The storm was beginning to pick up as they were making their way back. Rumbles of thunder roared from the looming clouds overhead, accompanied by thick lightning strikes.

The wind began to pick up. "Sir!" Data shouted against the howls. "I believe we should pick up the pace!"

"Agreed!" Picard shouted back.

Speed walking turned into jogging as the storm moved in closer with remarkable speed. Picard could no longer hold her hands at their speed.

They all broke out into a run for the shuttle pod, which couldn't have been more than a few hundred meters away by now. Worf tripped over some bodies, but recovered quickly. He was first to make it to the safety of the shuttle.

Data was next. Picard and Subject Alpha remained close together as they ran. The clouds were faster than them, though.

A blinding strike hit the ground, frying some bodies in the process, not 10 meters from where Picard and Subject Alpha were. Another came down even closer.

Worf had to shield his eyes in the cabin to prevent his eyes from being damaged. Data was immune, of course, and continued to watch for the pair.

"We must hurry!" Picard screamed at Subject Alpha.

A third strike was born from the clouds overhead, and fell upon Subject Alpha. She shrieked as her frame was tingled with great power. The jolt of energy from above combined with that of her own caused her to rise slightly off the ground, then fall on her side when the strike was over.

Data ran after them at great speed. "Return to the shuttle, Captain! I will get her!"

Picard couldn't see another option where everyone could survive. He heeded Data's words, ran the last few meters, and jumped into the shuttle.

Data found Subject Alpha completely still, laying on her side. He picked her up like a feather and jolted his way back to safety.

Worf closed the shuttle door as soon as they made it back in. Picard, in the pilot's seat, studied the sensor readings from the storm. "We can't take off in these conditions... how is she?" he gasped.

Data placed her upright in one of the seats. Her eyes were closed, and she did not appear to be breathing. He took the med kit and began to scan for any life signs. The medical tricorder came back with a solid, high-pitched whine, indicating no heart beat.

"She's dead, sir." Data replied.

Picard let out a long breath. "We can't just leave her here. We will take her back to the ship as soon as we can."

"How long until the storm passes?" inquired Worf.

"Oh, um," Picard answered, flustered, "An hour, maybe two? The storm is beginning to interfere with the sensors."

Picard looked back upon Subject Alpha's face. "So young..." he thought allowed. "She didn't deserve this."

Moments of silence ensued, despite the raging roars from the storm outside.

After an hour, the roars were dulled, and the storm had passed.

Picard silently powered up the engines and guided the landing party, plus one, back home.


End file.
